Earning A Heart
by geekatheartwriterinmind2599
Summary: Set after Epic Mickey 2. Mickey has yet to leave Wasteland and Minnie is getting worried in the Toon world. All the while, Oswald is going through some changes. While forgotten toons suddenly turn evil, Mickey and Oswald have to figure out what is going on and how to stop it.
1. Chapter 1

**_I came up with parts of this idea when I first finished Epic Mickey. I added more after finishing the second game and going to Disneyland. Hope you like it. In future chapters you see that there is a method to my mad madness._**

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><p><em>In 1928, a long time ago, before any mouse ruled the stage, there was a rabbit. Not just any rabbit, a LUCKY one. But in the next year the rabbit got lost and a mouse was born. <em>

_Now forward the clocks a bit, to about 2006, the rabbit returned! But after years of being forgotten, he landed in Wasteland along with all the other forgotten toons._

**Ostown, Present Day**

Oswald and Ortensia walked down the street of Ostown admiring how lovely and peaceful it was. People tipped their hats and said hello as they walked by. Ortensia wandered over to Clarabelle's flower garden while Oswald leaned against the wall of the Gag Factory. He took a deep breath. Wasteland was slowly being rebuilt after the quakes and the Mad Doctor's betrayal. It was nice to have a day off from getting rid of Blotlings and Beetleworks. He looked around Ostown, the colors where coming back and the fountain were no longer spitting Thinner. He got up and walked over to Ortensia and Clarabelle. He picked a yellow daisy for Ortensia. She blushed. Oswald took her hand and led her to the yellow house by the creek. Finally it got its well-deserved coat of Paint. He knocked on the door twice and a familiar friend came out. "Hey! Oswald and Ortensia how are you today?" he asked.

"We're fine Mic." Oswald replied. Mickey opened the door wider and let them in. The house was warm and inviting. "So Mickey, how long are you going to stay in Wasteland? Don't you have to go back?" Ortensia asked.

"I do, soon. But I want to make sure I don't have to come back right away. Not that I don't like seeing you guys." he said. He looked sad. His eyes wandered to a picture on the mantel of his fire place. A young girl mouse held Mickey's hand in the picture. Minnie. Mickey missed his Minnie.

"Oh Mickey you don't have to stay. I'm sure Ossy here has everything under control, don't you hunny bunny." Ortensia said. Oswald rubbed his hand nervously between his ears. He didn't want his best friend to leave just yet.

"Yeah, I've got it under control." Oswald said. Mickey smiled a bit. He walks over and shook Oswald's hand.

"Thanks. You guys are some of my best friends ever." Mickey hugged Ortensia goodbye and went to find Gus. Oswald and Ortensia locked up his house knowing that it won't be used for a while. They made their way down the stone walkway hand in hand. They stopped at the Oswald fountain and watched as Mickey jumped through the Mean Street projector. All the toons surrounding them got slightly greyer and slouched a little once Mickey left. Mickey, their hero. Oswald felt a twang of jealousy. He shook it off knowing that everyone loved him. He put his hand to his chest, knowing there would be no heartbeat. He wished that he had a heart, so he could travel between the Toon world and the Forgotten one. He left his hand there for a second more and felt a beat. Oswald looked curiously down at his hand. Maybe it was just a twitch or something. Then his vision went blurry and he fell to the ground. "Oswald!" Ortensia yelled.

Oswald opened his eyes. He felt fine, a little happier but fine. Ortensia questioned him with her eyes, he shrugged. They walked to the Mean Street projector hopefully in time to see Mickey off.

**Toontown, Present day**

Minnie paced the front room of her house. Mickey is not back yet. "Where is he?" she muttered under her breath. Her telephone rang. She ran for it. "Mickey?" she said.

"Not a sign of him. Minnie in sure he's fine. He is a big mouse." Daisy said on the other line.

"But, he didn't leave a note or call or anything! Oh Daisy, what am I going to do?" Minnie started to cry.

"Don't cry Minnie dear. Mickey will return. In the meantime, why don't I take you down to Main Street for some ice cream? That might cheer you up." Minnie only sobbed harder. Daisy mentally slapped herself in the face. The Ice Cream Parlor was Mickey and Minnie's favorite place to go. "Never mind about the ice cream. How about we go shopping for some new bows?" Daisy suggested.

"Sorry Daisy, I'm not in the mood for shopping." Minnie said whipping away her tears. "Thanks for the suggestion. I better go. Bye Daisy thanks for all your help."

"Bye Minnie." The call ended. Minnie put down the phone and started to pace again. She ended up going outside and walking to Mickey's house. She opened the door and wandered into his bedroom. The book he was reading the night he disappeared was sitting on his nightstand. Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll. Minnie carefully placed it in its spot on the bookshelf. She lightly dusted the props from Mickey's many cartoons, a pointy star hat, a wand, a few pictures, and a small statue of Mickey and Walt. As she brushed her hand over the wand again she was shocked. "OW!" she exclaimed. The wand shocked her. "Must still have some juice." Minnie picked up the wand and waved it around. Nothing happened. She waved it again towards the mirror. The mirror started to ripple. "That's odd." Minnie said. She climbed to the mantel a poked the mirror. It flexed with her finger. She gasped. But the stranger it got the more curious she would get.

Minnie slowly pushed a whole hand through and then her arm followed by the rest of her body. She popped out the other side with a thud. Minnie landed on cold, stone floor. Where was she? Minnie walked slowly down the dank corridor and into an open room. The room contained a tall desk and a chair. She climbed onto the chair and looked at what lay on the desk.

It was a map of some kind. But it was like a 3D weather report of sunny days and blue skies. Minnie poked curiously at the map with the wand. The wand was sucked in along with Minnie. She fell through soft white clouds and crashed through a glass castle roof. Minnie at least landed on something soft. It had long ears and long feet. "Excuse me miss but I am not a cushion." he said.

"Oops. I am so sorry sir. I didn't mean to fall on you." Minnie said. She helped him up. He brushed himself off.

"That's okay. A toon's first trip to Wasteland is not an easy one. I'm Oswald the leader of Wasteland and you are?" Oswald looked up. He didn't believe who he saw. It was the girl mouse from Mickey's pictures.

"I'm Minnie Mouse, and I'm looking for Mickey."


	2. Chapter 2

**So here is chapter two. Thank you for the reviews. They make me happy. I don't really like how this chapter turned out. Hopefully the next one will be better.**

**Mean Street, Present Day**

Mickey waited at the projector while Gus fluttered at his side. Ortensia searched the crowd for having lost Oswald on the way. Mickey let out a sigh. "It's sad leaving this place again."

"These people love you Mickey, but you have more friends and fans in the Toon world." Gus said placing a gloved hand on Mickey's shoulder.

"If only you could come with me." Mickey placed his hand over his heart. He felt a strong beat.

"You know we can't do that." Gus said. Ortensia made her way back to the front of the crowd.

"Not a sign of him. Where could he have gotten to? He's missing he best friend's goodbye." she paced in front of Gus and Mickey.

**Dark Beauty Castle, Present Day**

Oswald stared at Minnie. "How did you get here?" he asked.

"I... I don't know. There was a mirror and a wand." she said. Oswald itched is head. A wand?

"Did this wand look like a white stick?" Minnie nodded. Oswald reached into his pocket and pulled out the wand.

"Here you go. I guess this is yours." he said handing it to Minnie.

"Actually it is Mickey's." she said.

"Mickey! Oh my gosh we have to get to Mean Street before he leaves." Oswald said. He took Minnie by the hand and races down the corridors of the castle.

**Mean Street**

Mickey looked at the clock on the train station. It was getting late. He needed to go home. But where was Oswald? Ortensia was still pacing and Gus was talking to Jamface on how to install clocks everywhere so no one was late. Mickey was debating whether to go without saying goodbye to Oswald. He looked up at the train station clock. Minnie would be making dinner by now. If time in Wasteland was the same in the Toon world.

Soon everyone was sitting down now tired of standing. Even Ortensia stopped her pacing. Mickey's heart sank. He had to leave even if it meant not saying goodbye to his best friend, and brother. Mickey stood and so did everyone else. "Well, I know that Oswald is not here but I'm afraid that it is time for me to leave." he looked out into the crowd. Smiling faces of horsemen and cow women looked up at him. He looked pass the crowd and at Dark Beauty Castle. A goodbye array of fireworks danced through the sky and lit up the castle.

A jumble in the crowd snapped Mickey out of his peace. "Don't let him leave!" someone yelled from the crowd. Mickey looked to see where the commotion was. Gremlins flew over to pick up the person. Gus came back out of breath. "It is Oswald, and he's brought a friend." Mickey watched the gremlins fly back to him and the others carrying Oswald and Minnie. Minnie! What was Minnie doing in Wasteland? Gremlin Sparks gently set her down. Mickey ran to her.

"Mickey!" Minnie said as they embraced. Mickey felt her tears roll down his back.

"Minnie what are you doing here?" He asked worriedly.

"I came to find you. Well, I didn't mean to come here." she said. Mickey held his hand over her heart, just in case. There was still a beat. Mickey let out a sigh. She wasn't stuck here.

"How did you get here?" Mickey asked.

"I was missing you and I went through your mirror" she said.

"That tricky mirror" Mickey let out a laugh. Minnie gave a small giggle. They were so cute together. Ortensia grabbed Oswald and kissed him on the cheek. Oswald smiled. Mickey and Minnie watched the sunset over Mean Street.

Oswald and Mickey got up to say goodbye while Ortensia and Minnie talked. They would be good friends.

"So this is goodbye." Oswald said. Mickey nodded.

"But it's not for forever. I'll come back, promise." Mickey said. They embraced. So did Minnie and Ortensia.

Minnie and Mickey stood in front of the projector. Oswald, Ortensia, and Gus stood near ready to wave goodbye. Mickey looked at them. Three of his best friends. He smiled at each of them. They each smiled back. He smiled at Oswald the longest. Oswald gave a big smile back. But it slowly faded. His vison went blurry again and he fell to the ground. Mickey rushed to him.

Oswald woke up looking at Mickey and Ortensia. "Hey, what's the hold-up? You're still here Mickey." "

"You fainted; I'm not leaving without making sure that you are okay." Mickey said. Oswald felt fine, even better than fine.

"I'm fine Mic, you don't need to worry. And I'm the oldest I should worry about you." Oswald said. Mickey let out a sigh.

"This is the second time he's done this today." Ortensia said. Mickey looked to Gus. Gus shrugged. He had no idea what was happening to Oswald. "Mic, you don't need to stay. I'm fine and so is Wasteland."

"I'm not leaving until we find out what is happening to you." Mickey said. Minnie put her hand on his shoulder. "But Minnie, you need to go home. it can be very dangerous here in Wasteland."

"I'm not leaving without you. If this is where you are going to stay I am to." Mickey let out another sigh.

"Fine but stay close to Ortensia. She will help." Mickey said. Oswald sadly looked at the ground. He was keeping Mickey and Minnie here. "We need to find out what is happening to Oswald. How do you think we do that?" Mickey asked.

"What about other gremlins." Gus suggested. There were gremlins that excelled in other works besides fixing things.

"Okay. That's a start. We'll go to the Gremlin Village." Mickey said. He grabbed Minnie by her hand and lead the group to the projector. Oswald and Ortensia went first followed by Gus. Mickey held Minnie's hand as they jumped through.

**Gremlin Village**

"Gus, what is happening?" Oswald asked. The village was in a panic. Gremlins were fluttering all over the place. Horsemen with bright green eyes chased them around.

"I have no idea." Gus said.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey Readers! Thank you for the support. Next time you have prediction on what might happen you can PM the ideas to me. Maybe one might inspire me. This chapter contains horribly written action please don't hate. Thank you. Enjoy!**

**Gremlin Village**

"I have no idea." Gus said. Oswald and Mickey looked at each other and charged. "Do they often do this?" Minnie asked.

"They are the heroes of Wasteland. Didn't mickey tell you this?" Minnie shook her head.

"I'm sorry to ruin the moment girls but we have to run!" Gus said as he lifted the girls into the air and flew them a safe distance away. A green eyed toon barreled toward them. Gus stood in front of the girls with his wrench at hand. The toon rushed at him with its arms outstretched. Big drops of something dripped from its arms. Gus hit the toon across the head. They all let out a short lived sigh.

Mickey and Oswald led the toons away from the gremlins. "We don't want to hurt them!" Oswald said. He set his remote to its lowest level. Mickey urged the brush to give off paint. Two toons split the friends apart. Oswald shocked the toon. It fell to the ground. Little birds twittered around its head. Mickey painted the toon rushing at him. The toon stopped and lowered its arms. Its eyes changed from green to normal gray. "Paint works!" Mickey yelled to Oswald. Oswald led other toons toward Mickey. Mickey painted then. The green eyed toons turned back to normal.

Minnie and Ortensia watched their heroes from a nearby hill. His had flown off to help his fellow gremlins. "Did mickey ever tell you about his time in Wasteland?" Ortensia asked. Minnie shook her head.

"No he was quiet for a while after he returned." Minnie said. "Do you know how he got here in the first place?"

"I didn't meet Mickey the first time he came. I was a little held up." Ortensia looked to the ground. Minnie gave her a hug. She looked over Ortensia's shoulder. A toon was running up the hill towards them. Minnie pushed ortensia behind her. She pulled out the wand. Minnie pointed the wand at the toon. Blue sparkles flew out the wand and surrounded the toon. Its eyes changed from green to gray. Minnie and Ortensia let out a sigh.

Mickey and Oswald shocked and painted the last toon. "That's all of them." Oswald gave mickey a high five. Toon wandered around wondering how they got to the Gremlin Village.

Gus flew over and picked up mickey while Oswald flew behind then. They landed near Minnie and ortensia. The girls ran to their heroes.

"Why didn't you tell me about Wasteland?" Minnie asked. Mickey looked to the ground avoiding her eyes.

"I didn't want you to feel sorry for these toons. Once you found on about this work you would insist on helping them. Trust me. These toons do not need help. "Mickey said.

"Oh Mickey, you really like it here, don't you?" Minnie said. Mickey embraced her.

"Of course I like it here. And it's not just because I'm the hero. I have family here and friends." Mickey said. Minnie pulled away and looked at him funny.

"Family?" she questioned.

"Oswald is sort of my brother." Mickey said. He scratched the back of his head. Oswald waved shyly. His vision went blurry again. He fell to the ground. "Oswald!" Ortensia yelled.

Oswald woke up inside one of the gremlin houses. "Tensia?" He murmured. This time it took more out of him.

"I'm right here Ozzie." Ortensia was at his side holing his hand.

"Whose house is this?" he asked.

"The gremlin that is going to help you. I didn't catch his name." Ortensia said. Oswald sat up. He was feeling better already. Gus, Mickey, and Minnie were having a discussion in the corner while a blue gremlin fluttered near the window. "Oswald! How are you feeling?" the gremlin asked.

"I feel fine. Even better than fine." Oswald said. The gremlin flew over to Oswald and busied himself with tools. The gremlin swiftly fluttered around Oswald, performing little tests. "Say ah." Oswald ah-ed.

"Okay. I think I have a diagnosis." Everyone in the room came together. "I believe that you are earning a heart." The room was silent.

"Earning a heart? I don't have a heart." Oswald said.

"Apparently you can earn one." the gremlin said. Oswald looked at his friends. Their faces showed different signs of surprise. The only one that caught his attention was Mickey's. Oswald recalled their final battle with the Blot. He remembered the strong heat beat as it lay in his hands. He remembered how tempted he was to take it and leave Wasteland forever. How could he earn a heart?

"Does this mean I could leave Wasteland?" The gremlin shrugged.

"This is the first case I've seen. I have never heard of someone earning a heart." Oswald looked at his friends again. Mickey and Minnie were whispering something. A lightbulb lit up over Mickey's head.

"Hey, Gus do you think you can wire my telephone in Ostown to the Toon World. I think I might be able to get more information about earning a heart." Mickey asked. Gus silently did some calculations.

"I think so." He said.

"Why do we need to call the Toon World?" Ortensia asked.

"When a toon is forgotten it loses its heart and cannot leave Wasteland, but what if a toon becomes unforgotten. The toon becomes popular again loved by audiences everywhere." Mickey said.

"So could I have become known again?" Oswald asked. His mind wandered to the days when he was on the big screen.

"I don't know yet. I haven't seen anything since my last trip here." Mickey said. Minnie held his hand. "We need to go to Ostown to get more answers."

"Oswald," the blue gremlin said, "Be careful, as you earn more of your heart the more you will faint." Oswald nodded as he jumped off the table. He grabbed Ortensia's hand and followed Mickey to the projector.

When they got there, a familiar purple gremlin was fluttering around the projector. "Prescott? What are you doing to the projector?" Gus asked.

"I'm only fitting on a gear that has the different locations accessible by projector to it. So there are not so many projector jumps." Prescott said. He turned to look at the group. He saw the normal group. Oswald, Mickey, Ortensia, Gus, but there was someone new. "Hello, I don't think we've met. I'm Prescott the one who keeps this place running." He took Minnie's hand and lightly kissed it like a prince. Minnie blushed. Mickey's face reddened with an angry rage. "Well it looks like you are on some hero mission thingy, better let you to it. Projectors are up and running." He vanished with a bow towards Minnie. Mickey took Minnie's hand and jumped through the projector.

**Ostown**

The group landed in Ostown. They rushed to Mickey's house almost knocking animatronic Goofy into the fountain. "Gus, it's up to you now." Mickey said. Gus took out his wrench and stated to fiddle with the phone lines.

"There, I think that will work." Gus took a step back wiping the sweat off his brow. Mickey picked up the phone and dialed.

"Goofy! Yes it is me, Mickey." "I'll tell you about it later. I need a favor. How popular is Oswald?" "Yes, the toon before me." "Really! Thanks Goofy. I owe you one." Mickey hung up the phone. "Turns out that Oswald is part of the family again. You are showing up in games and cartoons. Goofy said he even saw people in Oswald Ears instead of Mickey Ears." Oswald looked at Mickey in unbelief.

"People like me?" he said. Mickey nodded. People like Oswald.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey readers! I'm so so sorry that it took me forever to upload. My schedule was just too much. But whenever I had extra time I would write. It probably won't be as long for the next chapter. Enjoy!**

**Ostown, Mickey's House**

Oswald stood in the corner with Ortensia in awe. "Are you sure about this Mickey?" Gus asked.

"It's the only explanation we have so it will have to do?" Mickey said. He looked at his brother in the corner. Could a forgotten toon really earn a heart? What does a toon have to do to earn a heart?

"What if it is wrong?" Gus whispered so Oswald wouldn't hear. Mickey only shrugged. He pictured a broken Oswald after finding out if he wasn't popular. "Mickey, be happy right now. Oswald is earning a heart." Minnie said. This lifted Mickey's spirits. He hugged his Minnie. "Thanks, Min." he said quietly to her.

**Deep Below Dark Beauty Castle**

Green eyed toons lined up in straight lines. Waiting for a leader. The Petes wandered around in front of them. "Are you sure the information that gremlin gave is us correct?" Pete Pan asked.

"Well we have half an army of toons. Does that answer your question?" Petetronic snapped. Pete Pan and the toons all flinched. "All we need is a strong heart to raise the Boss."

"Where are we…?" Small Pete started to ask.

"Where do you think we are going to get a heart? The Hero of Wasteland of course!" Petetronic said annoyed with his brothers. They could be so stupid some times. "Then we need a leader. Cause none of us are able to lead an army to victory." Each of the Petes nodded.

**Back in Ostown**

Oswald walked around the town with a new spring in his step. Almost nothing could ruin his happiness now. Mickey was still talking with Gus. Oswald skipped over to his beautiful Ortensia and Minnie. They were giggling. "Hello ladies. What are you two giggling about?" Oswald asked. He put an arm around Ortensia.

"Why do you want to know?" Minnie asked with a giggle.

"I just feel like talking. Is it about Prescott?" Minnie nodded.

"Can you believe that he did that? He could totally see that Mickey and I are a thing."

"But did you see how Mickey reacted. His face was as red as his pants." Ortensia burst into laughter. Soon everyone was laughing.

Mickey and Gus watched as Oswald and the girls laughed. "At least he is happy." Gus said.

"Yeah." Mickey said. He was glad that Oswald was happy. "What about the toons with green eyes?"

"They were a surprise. From my observations they have blot-like qualities. The green eyes and ink drips."

"Do you think that the Blot could come back?" Gus shrugged. Mickey pushed the nightmarish thought to the back of his mind. He dragged Gus over to Oswald and the others. They were still laughing. "Hey Mic! So what do we do now?" Oswald said.

"I don't know." Mickey said.

"Why don't you show me some of your favorite places in Wasteland?" Minnie suggested. Mickey nodded.

"Where should we go first?" Mickey asked Oswald. Oswald looked to Ortensia for help.

"Why don't we go to Autotopia and have a friendly race?"

"It's on.' Mickey said. The group rushed to the projector. Gus spun the new gear to Autotopia. "Here we go!" Oswald exclaimed. Oswald and Ortensia went first then Gus and finally Mickey and Minnie.

**Autotopia**

Mickey was the last one to come out of the projector. He landed on Oswald with a thud. The girls Burt's out into laughter. Mickey got up and helped Oswald to his feet. "Thanks Mic. Let's see if we can catch a race." Oswald hopped to in front and led the group to the starting line.

"Hop in!" Oswald said. Mickey and Minnie hopped into the red car next to him. Ortensia rode with Gus. Oswald liked to be the one in control. They waited at the starting line. The lights slowly turned from red to yellow then finally green. The group was off.

Oswald speed forward. Gus and Ortensia were not far behind. But mickey and Minnie's car stalled. "Oh!" Minnie sighed. Mickey got out of the car and checked the engine.

"Press the pedal again, Minnie." He said. Minnie pushed down on the pedal and the car speed forward. Mickey caught hold of the side and pulled himself into the car. "That was close." He said breathless.

Oswald and Ortensia and Gus were neck and neck. Gus fluttered near the engine of his car swinging his wrench. Their car got a burst of speed, passing Oswald by a few feet. "That's cheating!" Oswald exclaimed.

Mickey and Minnie did not catch up to the others. "Are we really that far behind?" Minnie asked. Mickey shrugged.

"Do you think they took that other turn?" Mickey wondered. They cruised down the road, hoping that the roads would come back together.

Oswald finally passed up Ortensia and Gus. The finish line was in their sights. Oswald pushed his lucky foot down on the pedal. His car gave a sickening lurch forward. "NO! NO! NO!" Oswald's car slowed to a stop. "Stupid car!" Ortensia and Gus flew by. They crossed the finish line with a storm of lights.

Ever since Autotopia was rebuilt every race was treated like the Grand Prix. The winners were showered in pictures and confetti. It's like a parade. Ortensia and Gus were lifted onto a stage. They both received a certificate and a special pin. Oswald stood at the edge of the crowd, jealous

Mickey and Minnie turned down another road. "Are you sure this is the right way?" Minnie asked.

"No, but we can only hope." Mickey answered. They drove over a hill. The car stalled at the top.

"Hold on!" Mickey yelled as the car started to roll down the hill. It gained speed. Mickey stomped on the brake. "No use, its offline!" The car raced down the hill. Its riders held each other tightly. The car swung around a sharp turn, forcing Minnie from Mickey's arms. "Minnie!" he yelled as he reached to grab her.

"Mickey!" she yelled as she flew out of the car. The car raced on with Mickey inside.

Ortensia and Gus where finally able to leave the stage and meet back up with Oswald. "Hunny Bunny! That was a great race." she said as she threw her arms around Oswald.

"Yeah, I guess it was. You guys did well." He said looking at the ground.

"Don't be a bad sport Oswald." Gus said. Oswald's ears hung in shame. They waited at the line for Mickey and Minnie.

"Where they really that far behind us?" Ortensia asked. Gus and Oswald both shrugged.

Mickey raced down a tunnel. The car came to a sudden stop. "Hello?" he squeaked. Mickey got out of his car. He had no idea where he was. The car started back up and drove back into the tunnel, mickey rushed to follow. A waterfall of Thinner flowed over the edge. Mickey skidded to a halt. No way out. He slowly turned around. There were two tunnels for him to choose. Mickey approached both. The right one let out a soft breeze. But the left one had a light at the end and if Mickey strained enough he could hear soft laughter. "That might be the girls." he said as he headed down the left tunnel.

"We need to go look for them!" Ortensia worried. Oswald nodded in agreement. Gus was fluttering around the crowd looking for them. "Their car probably stalled and they are still on the track." Oswald said. Both of them got cars and drove slowly down the track. "Here's the first turn. We went left." Oswald pointed to the right, "they might have gone that way." The road only went on for a bit.

"Ozzie, this is a dead end. What if they are stuck further up the road?" Ortensia said.

"No. I know that this road goes on. Someone must have closed it." Oswald hopped out of his car. He looked around the cars. All the walls were solid. Gus appeared near their cars. "No sign of them at the starting line. I can't teleport to either of them." He said.

"They might have turned this way." Oswald said. Gus looked around.

"Someone closed up the tunnel." He fluttered near the wall. "Solid." He came back to Oswald and Ortensia. Ortensia sighed and sat on a toon rock. A part of the wall opened. "Fireworks! We can blow up the wall." Oswald said. Gus helped him drag the bucket of explosives to the wall. Oswald pulled out his remote and shocked it. The dust cleared and the tunnel was open. Oswald, Ortensia, and Gus got into the cars and took off.

Minnie woke up on the side of the road. She sat up and looked around. NO cars and no Mickey. A small movement caught her eye. Minnie slowly walked over the quivering bush. She pushed aside some branches and found a small brown creature. The creature ran out of the bush terrified. "Hold on little guy, I'm not going to hurt you." Minnie said sweetly. The creature tepidly approached. "See I'm a nice mouse." The creature stood next to her. It was about waist high with familiar, green eyes. The creature took her hand and started to pull her away from the road. She followed.

**Waiting Down, Deep down the Tunnel**

Petetronic sat in a makeshift throne waiting for good news. Sweepers stood on either side of him. A knock of the heavy toon door brought him out of his thoughts. Blotlings stood to attention. A Spotter walked in shyly. It walked up to Petetronic and gave him a report. "Good, good, we separated them!" He exclaimed. The room burst into inky cheers.

"Shh, Shh!" Petetronic put his fat finger to his lips. The tunnels magnified ever sound. The crowd shhhed. Petetronic sat back down on his throne. "Finally."


End file.
